By default, you own any file you create in or upload to Google Drive.
If you use a personal Google Account:
- You can invite another person with a personal Google Account to take ownership of your files and folders.
- You can’t invite another person with a work or school account to take ownership of your files or folders.
- The person you invite to own the file or folder must accept your request to complete the transfer.
Before you transfer ownership
When you make someone else the owner of a folder, you still own the files inside. Learn more about sharing folders.
Tip: If you transfer ownership of a lot of files and folders at once, it may take some time for you to see the changes.
After you transfer ownership
When you send an ownership transfer request:
- The pending owner is notified by email that if they accept the transfer request, they become the file owner. Until then, you remain the owner.
- The pending owner is upgraded to an Editor, unless they’re already an Editor.
- If the pending owner accepts, you’re downgraded to Editor. The new owner can remove you.
- If the pending owner declines, you remain the owner.
Change owners in Google Drive
Important: You can transfer ownership of a file to someone you previously shared the file with. Learn more about sharing files from Google Drive.
- On your computer, open Google Drive.
- Find the file you want to transfer then right-click.
- Click Share
.
- Next to the recipients name, click the Down arrow
Transfer ownership.
Change owners in a Docs, Sheets, or Slides file
Important: You can transfer ownership of a file to someone you previously shared the file with. Learn more about sharing files from Google Drive.
To transfer file ownership in Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides:
- On your computer, open Google Drive.
- Open a Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides file.
- At the upper right corner, click Share.
- Next to the recipients name, click the Down arrow
Transfer ownership.
Cancel a transfer
Important: You can't cancel a transfer after the new owner accepts the request.
To cancel file ownership transfer in Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides:
- On your computer, open a file.
- At the upper right corner, click Share.
- Next to the recipients name, click the Down arrow
Cancel ownership transfer.
Accept or decline an ownership transfer request
You get an email when someone requests a file transfer. You can accept or decline the invitation. You can also search in Drive for files pending a response to an ownership transfer request.
- Open Google Drive.
- In the search bar at the top, enter
pendingowner:me
. - Right click the file or files you want to respond to.
- Click Share
Accept ownership?
Accept or Decline.
Important:
- You remain the file owner until the pending owner accepts your request. After the transfer, you can edit the file until your permissions change.
- You can’t transfer a file from your personal Google account to someone with a work or school account.
- If you send an ownership transfer request to a personal account and that account becomes a work or school account, the pending owner can’t accept the request.
- If you send an ownership transfer request and your personal account becomes a work or school account, the pending owner can’t accept the request.
- You can cancel the request.
- The pending owner can decline the request.
- When you transfer ownership of a file, it's no longer in My Drive and doesn't count towards your storage. It'll count towards the storage of the new owner.